Pinnacle Drip Tips

[Katdarling]

I finished polishing this morning and parted off the tip. This tip took 18-20 hours to create. About half of this time was spent repeating steps that I did not do correctly the first time.

Petrified perfections, Lewis!!!

The lapis is starting to take shape.

Ok, now that is just outright gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!

I think you should keep the petrified for yourself. With the amount of labor and love that went into that? Yeah, that should be yours!!


18-20 hours??? OMG!!!!!!!!

 

[whokrz]

Thanks! Working with the stone takes a lot of time, but I really like the results.

I thought about keeping the tip, but I would be afraid to use it because I break tips. I added it and the lapis tip to the bag for the DV staff.

The hardness of the stone and the finish affect the time required. With the petrified wood I removed all imperfections from roughing and polished. To make another one would take about 10 hours. The lapis I left the marks from roughing then polished. This left a smooth texture for the finish and took 5 hours. To remove all imperfections would have taken about 7 hours.

 

[Katdarling]

Congrats to the DV staff! They are definitely laborious works of art and love, Lewis. Thank you for sharing them with us! I can not imagine putting in those hours for each tip. WOW.

Well done, sweetie.

 

[LordDavon]

Wow. That's a lot of work!

 

[whokrz]

Yeah, don't drop it

 

[DPLongo22]

I have no klue what you just said, but yaaay! I think.

They are all gorgeous. Excellent job.

Yeah, don't drop it

That leaves ME out.

But I can still admire the work - and I do.

LD - Is Eric still around, anywhere? Just a curiosity thing. I've been thinking about him a lot lately. Just wondering how he's doing.

 

[LordDavon]

LD - Is Eric still around, anywhere? Just a curiosity thing. I've been thinking about him a lot lately. Just wondering how he's doing.

Yes, he is still around. He just spends a lot more time with his family these days.

 

[Katdarling]

Please tell him that we said hello? (Particularly the DPL)

 

[whokrz]

Its great to hear that he can spend more time with them

 

[Lisa66]

@whokrz: Watching with interest. I own 10-12 of your tips and subscribed to this thread in anticipation...... I left this forum a while back and don't get here very often....

(aside) Hi, tmcase! I've missed you and hope you are doing well.

Anyway - I have dipped a toe in lapidary, cut numerous stones. My dad was an excellent one. I found that metal (mostly silver; also copper and brass, and lately blacksmithing) is my thing and buy cut stones from other people now.

I have a list of abrasives appropriate for various kinds of stones (on paper). It varies greatly according to the stone, as you have begun to notice, I'm sure. I will have to dig it up but can scan it and get it to you if you like; it's very helpful.

If you are using carbide tools for grinding you will probably wear them out very quickly. For small objects, I have found that various shaped diamond tools (bits) in my flex shaft drill, with the bit partially submerged in water as a cooling lubricant, work best for carving. Keep in mind I have not done a lot of this. And---it has to be followed up with the appropriate abrasives to get a polish; tin oxide, aluminum oxide....whatever is appropriate for the given stone, and it matters.

I have a (inexpensive) holder for my flex shaft that allows me to use both hands when grinding whatever. I also looked at Kingsley North, very reputable and fairly priced lapidary supplier and saw this: Flexade for BL Lathe - Foredom - Kingsley North, which allows you to turn a lathe into a flex shaft......not sure if that is something that might help you. Regardless, they have anything you would need to cut/polish any stone.

Not trying to sway you into buying more stuff---but with a flex shaft (or even a corded Dremel) you can use any type of grinding/polishing/buffing wheel/bit/tip you can imagine. You can get paste of various abrasives and use it on all kinds of these attachments to get the final finish you need.

Also, please check out this forum, if you haven't already:
Lapidaryforum.net - Index

There are people there that do carving and also a ton of info on lapidary techniques.

Let me know if you'd like that list of abrasives.

 

[whokrz]

The list of abrasives would be great! I would be greatful for any advise you have. Reducing the time they take to make would be great if it is possible. Here is how I made the last one.

While turning I keep the tip half submerged in water. On the harder stone I used a flex shaft dremel with a coarse diamond bur for roughing the shape. Then a medium bur to refine the shape. I also use a wood turning tool to hold a bur. This allows me to make it round and take fine cuts on delicate areas.

For polish I ended up using different micron diamond paste. The paste was applied to a hard felt bob. I also applied small amounts with my finger as the bob ran dry. I didn't use any water with the diamond paste. I had to keep an eye on the temperature of the stone so it didn't get to hot.

The dremel I had to run at medium speed or it would start to get hot. My dad let me borrow a old foredom flex shaft. Hopefully this will give me a higher rpm than the dremel I was abusing. I also picked up some fine burs to try next time.

So far I haven't had to spend very much on tools. I bought a few core bits, burs, bobs and paste. It would be nice to have a slab saw for cutting thick slabs, but I don't have the money or the room. I have read that some people use a tile saw for a trim saw. Do you think a stone could be rough cut on a tile saw?

 

[Lisa66]

The list of abrasives would be great! I would be greatful for any advise you have. Reducing the time they take to make would be great if it is possible. Here is how I made the last one.

While turning I keep the tip half submerged in water. On the harder stone I used a flex shaft dremel with a coarse diamond bur for roughing the shape. Then a medium bur to refine the shape. I also use a wood turning tool to hold a bur. This allows me to make it round and take fine cuts on delicate areas.

For polish I ended up using different micron diamond paste. The paste was applied to a hard felt bob. I also applied small amounts with my finger as the bob ran dry. I didn't use any water with the diamond paste. I had to keep an eye on the temperature of the stone so it didn't get to hot.

The dremel I had to run at medium speed or it would start to get hot. My dad let me borrow a old foredom flex shaft. Hopefully this will give me a higher rpm than the dremel I was abusing. I also picked up some fine burs to try next time.

So far I haven't had to spend very much on tools. I bought a few core bits, burs, bobs and paste. It would be nice to have a slab saw for cutting thick slabs, but I don't have the money or the room. I have read that some people use a tile saw for a trim saw. Do you think a stone could be rough cut on a tile saw?

Sorry - haven't been back here for a while.

I have definitely heard of others using a tile saw to cut rock, although I personally don't know what blades to use...... however, I did find this info on using a tile saw in an old blog I had bookmarked:

Lapidary Tips: Fast Inexpensive Lapidary Slab Saw

I'm sure if you dig you can get other people's opinions on this as well. I'll see if I find anything else.

I can really understand the advantages of using water (as opposed to oil) as a lubricant. I hated that stuff (oil) in the class I took. It's filthy, gets a fine mist with grit all over everything (including safety glasses, and you can't see), and it stinks. It seems to enter your pores, like garlic....hard to get rid of.

Good you have the Foredom. I use mine to death; like you said, it's got more oomph than a Dremel.

Let me dig out that abrasives guide and I'll scan it and get it into a form that I can PM you with.

 

[Lisa66]

Also, do you have a bench grinder? You could probably rig that up with the right wheel and water cooling for faster rough forming.

 

[LordDavon]

The Bench Grinder made me laugh. I had a family gathering a couple weeks ago, and I was telling everyone about my new knife set -- I like to play chef. Anyway, I have a chef knife that got all banged up, so I got a new set. My father told me to get a bench grinder to fix my knives when that happens.

Just thought I'd share.

 

[Lisa66]

The Bench Grinder made me laugh. I had a family gathering a couple weeks ago, and I was telling everyone about my new knife set -- I like to play chef. Anyway, I have a chef knife that got all banged up, so I got a new set. My father told me to get a bench grinder to fix my knives when that happens.

Just thought I'd share.

Truth to that!

I recently took a week of private blacksmithing instruction..... made a bunch of stuff, including a knife.....out of rebar. A bench grinder (which I do not have) would be ideal for knives. Instead, I will be finishing the blade with a (relatively) miniature grinding wheel, and it will be much more difficult on that scale. I NEED a bench grinder.

 

[LordDavon]

Truth to that!

I recently took a week of private blacksmithing instruction..... made a bunch of stuff, including a knife.....out of rebar. A bench grinder (which I do not have) would be ideal for knives. Instead, I will be finishing the blade with a (relatively) miniature grinding wheel, and it will be much more difficult on that scale. I NEED a bench grinder.

I looked into one. You can get some cheaper $40 units. Of course, my father tells me about his, which is about $200. So, anything less, and I'm doing it wrong.

 

[aikanae1]

Of course, my father tells me about his, which is about $200. So, anything less, and I'm doing it wrong.

For father's day, give him a grinder at your house. LOL. My dad was good at that too.

 

[LordDavon]

lol... I wish. My dad expects gifts. He doesn't give them. It is the same with all gift giving holidays. He got everyone together for my birthday a few years ago, so we all went to Longhorn Steakhouse. I had to pay my own bill, and he tried to get me to pay his. Yup, he's THAT dad!

 

[Lisa66]

lol... I wish. My dad expects gifts. He doesn't give them. It is the same with all gift giving holidays. He got everyone together for my birthday a few years ago, so we all went to Longhorn Steakhouse. I had to pay my own bill, and he tried to get me to pay his. Yup, he's THAT dad!

Family......for better or worse, we're stuck with them....

 

[LordDavon]

Family......for better or worse, we're stuck with them....

Yup. Luckily, I have some good family and some not so good family. I can always avoid the ones that are not so good.